Sonoma County Ag + Open Space

As we join others in celebrating Black History Month, we want to acknowledge we have much more to learn, and much more to do. During this year’s Black History Month, we want to recognize and direct attention to people and organizations who have been doing the work of calling out and dismantling racism everywhere, especially when it comes to the environment and access to natural and working lands. To start, we invite you to follow ASALH: Association for the Study of African A...merican Life and History to learn about the history of Black History Month. They’re hosting virtual events all month long: https://asalh.org/about-us/origins-of-black-history-month/ We know sharing resources is only a small step. To formalize, sustain, and spur our work onwards we have formed a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee and will be sharing more about our contributions to the fight for racial equity in Sonoma County in the coming months.

What’s your favorite Sonoma County hike? Let us know in the comments! We could certainly never pick a favorite, but it’s hard to beat these views at the Jenner Headlands..

Are you looking to start a career in land conservation? Or curious to hear more about the different paths in this work? On February 23rd from 2-3:30pm, the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation and Ag + Open Space are proud to host Taylor Acosta (Sonoma County Ag + Open Space), Annie Madden (Laguna Foundation), Sophie Noda (Point Blue Conservation Science), and Shelly Spriggs (Laguna Foundation, Sonoma Water) for a candid discussion about their experiences as women in conservation and education. This is first of three insightful discussions on green career paths and the unique role of early career leaders in the environmental movement. Register here: https://campsite.bio/sonomaopenspace

In January we took some time to reflect on 2020, and found ourselves full of gratitude for our amazing Sonoma County community. In our latest blog post, we took a moment to think about what we accomplished during such a trying and extraordinary year. Read more: https://campsite.bio/sonomaopenspace

Friday means Forever Friday time! Let’s (virtually) take a trip to the Two Rock area west of Petaluma to learn more about Azevedo Ranch This 236-acre highly productive coastal grassland property has been in the Azevedo family since 1945, and one of the structures on the property dates back to 1870. Perfect for beef cattle grazing, Ag + Open Space protected this property in 2002 for $1.75M. By protecting ranches like this one, we help our county become more resilient to climate change because rangelands sequester carbon. Protection of agriculturally productive land also helps to maintain open space and scenic views, and provides habitat for native species of plants and wildlife.